


Together As One

by Mai_Mai1



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Aro Is Bella's Mate, Bella Part Of Volturi, F/M, Vampire Bella
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-18 18:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8170960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mai_Mai1/pseuds/Mai_Mai1
Summary: On Bella Swan's trip to save Edward from killing himself, she is faced with a choice; go home with a man who would rather she grew old and died than change her or stay with a raven haired man who was the only person in her entire life that asked her what she wanted and who she felt such a connection to, Edward was almost forgotten about the moment she met his gaze. Bella knows the answer and for once in her life, she couldn't care less of what Edward thought of it.





	1. The Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So, I read a story called “The Place I belong” a long time ago and let's just say I hated how it ended. Well, it was never finished in the first place, but the way it was headed made me disappointed. I have decided to write my own version of the tale and I recommend that you read the original before my own. There will be some situations that I will bring from the original that will be told differently while the entire plot goes a completely different way. I do NOT under any circumstances, own the term, “Sponge Shield” nor is this idea mine. They belong to the author of the original story. I do not own Twilight either.

“What of you, Isabella? Will you join us?” Aro asked as he looked into my chocolate eyes with his own Ruby ones. I shivered at the sound of his voice. It was like his voice resonated deep down within me to the point that I felt compelled to follow it. Somehow, I knew that voice would bring me to a home I belonged in and a life I deserved. I heard Edward growl next to me and his hand tightened in mine, making me wince. Aro’s eyes dashed to Edward.

“She will not.” Edward answered for me. That angered me. I wanted to make my own choice. I tore my hand away from him and stepped away, inadvertently taking a step towards Aro.

“I believe it was dear Isabella that I was talking to.” Aro told him with a warning tone. His eyes set back on mine and I nodded.

“Yes, Aro. I will join you.” I said. I didn't notice that I had walked up to him as I spoke and he reached out his hand for me to take.

“No! Bella!” I saw Edward try to grab my hand and pull me back, only to have Alice withstrain him.

“Don’t you see? She belongs here with him.” Alice told him. Her eyes glazed over as she held him back and he saw what she was seeing.

“No! Bella, I will not let you make this choice!” His outburst angered me further and I felt Aro’s encouraging hand on my back for me to speak my mind.

“Edward, you don’t have to like my choices, but they are mine!” Aro used his other hand to beckon Felix and Demetri.

“Remove them.” Was all he commanded.

“Yes, Master.” They said in unison before coming up to the Cullens. Alice went calmly with a look of understanding written on her face while Felix forced Edward out of the room. When the doors closed, Aro turned to me with a soft smile playing on his lips.

“Jane?” He requested. She stepped forward.

“Yes, Master?”

“Escort Miss. Swan out of the room for me, please?”

“Where to, Master?” She asked. He kept his gaze on mine as he thought. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head before he opened his mouth to speak.

“Bring her to my chambers, Dear.” There were many gasps from other guard members in the room at his request.

“Aro, are you sure? Does it have to be this one?” Caius pleaded. Aro gave her a grin before looking at Caius.

“Yes, this one. What do you think, Marcus?” Marcus turned his bored expression into one of thoughtfulness as he addressed Aro.

“As the young seer proclaimed, she belongs here.” He answered before going back to his recent expression. I was then led away and down dark corridors with barely any light to see.

“Jane?” I asked. She didn't give any indication that she heard me until we reached a wooden door.

“What?” She spat.

“I just wanted to say thank you for what you did to Edward back there. He deserved it and I also wanted to tell you how amazing I think your gift is.” I told her truthfully. We entered the room and she spun around to look at me, her expression had softened significantly.

“Really?” She asked in a smaller voice.

“Yes.” She relaxed even more than before and I watched as she looked me over before speaking.

“I am afraid that I owe you an apology for the way I have acted although you must know that I would not be doing this if you were going to be changed by any other vampire in the castle. Next, I would like to inform you what the conversation between the three kings meant. In the Volturi’s existence, many of the vampires here have changed others, but the three kings have only changed a few. When you are changed by one of the kings, that means they expect you to do great things and have magnificent powers. Marcus has only changed his mate, Didyme, Masters’ Aro and Caius, my brother and I. Master Caius has changed Felix, Demetri and Chelsea while Master Aro has never bitten with the intent to create. His venom in your veins will bring you great honor from all who know he is your maker.” She explained. My eyes grew wider as she told me what it all meant until finally, I felt as though they would pop out of their sockets.

“But, why me? I'm nothing special.” I tried to reason.

“Master Aro thinks you are.” She commented before leaving. I was alone in the room for only a few moments before Aro entered the room. He saw me sitting at the table by the fireplace and smiled at me in greeting as he approached.

“Ah! Isabella. How are you, my dear?” He asked me, kissing my hand gently before taking a seat next to me.

“I am surprisingly fine, Aro. Jane has made me feel quite at home. I thank you for allowing me the chance at this new life. It’s truly a new beginning for me and I will be forever grateful.” I spoke with trust and respect evident in my voice.

“I am happy to hear it. Now, I think it is prudent that you are changed tonight. Does that sound alright to you?” He asked me, but I knew he was going to do it regardless of my answer.

“It sounds perfect, Master.” I felt I should call him that in respect like Jane had. He laughed.

“Isabella, you are to be my first ever change. That comes with many responsibilities and a lot of respect. Please, call me Aro.” He spoke. I nodded. He picked me up and put me on the bed in the corner of the room. “Are you ready?” He asked.

“Yes, Aro.”

“I will be here with you through it all. You will see me when you wake.” Before I could say anything, I felt his teeth bite into my neck and the next thing I knew, I was burning. I didn't want to make a sound. Though the burning was unbearable, I kept silent in respect to my creator. For some reason, I did not want him to suffer through my screams. It felt like forever that I was burning, but Aro never left me. Many came through to speak to him or sit with him, but my vision was blurry and I could only make out Aro that held my hand. Soon enough, his cold hand felt warm and his voice soothed me to no ends. My vision became clear as day and I could see the way his shirt was stitched and count each rock in the concrete ceiling.

“Just a little longer, Isabella.” His voice assured me. Yes, just a little longer. I could hear my heart trying to beat.

_Thump thump….. Thump thump… Thump…. Th--_

Suddenly it stopped. At that moment, Aro let go of my hand and stood away from me. Before I could think of sitting up, I was already up. I looked around the room with wide eyes. It was like I was seeing everything for the first time. I turned to see Aro standing in a way that connotated a battle stance. I suddenly realized he was waiting for an obvious newborn move. Fight or Flight I thought. Instead, I stood and walked carefully over to him.

“Aro, I'm not going to freak out on you or try to run.” I assured him. I kept the sincerity in my voice, which sounded like bells. It must have worked because he relaxed just a bit.

“Most newborns do.” He quipped.

“I have a feeling that I'm not like most newborns.” He laughed.

“Come, you must be thirsty.” He beckoned me. My throat was a little scratchy, but nothing unbearable.

“I'm not really all that thirsty, Aro.” I told him truthfully. He paused to look at me and his eyes went down to my neck to see if I was lying.

“Hm. Alright, then we’ll place you before you feed.” He told me.

“Place me?” I asked.

“Yes. Once you have been changed by one of the Masters, you are put in the Elite Guard. We need to figure out your placement.” I nodded and followed him out of the room and down a corridor or two. We came across two giant wooden doors and he pushed them open to reveal the throne room.

“Ah! Welcome to the Volturi, Isabella.” Caius’ voice played in her head. She turned towards the voice and bowed her head towards him in respect.

“Yes. Welcome, my dear.” Marcus added. I bowed to him as well.

“Alright. Isabella, as a child of Volterra, you will be placed in the Elite Guard. Today is the day we find out what title to give you.” Aro waved his hands to beckon over Jane and Demetri. They started to circle us both and that's when I knew that this was my test. I knew that I needed to come up with a way to protect myself that wasn't normal. I readied myself for an attack, but instead, Jane put her trained glare upon Aro. My eyes widened. They weren't attacking me, they were attacking my master. My creator. Before Jane had the chance to activate her gift, I placed myself in her line of sight.

I suddenly felt something around me. It was like a rubber band that I was trying to stretch. Somehow, I knew how to use it and I let it out until it covered Aro and I. Jane’s onslaught happened and instead of just blocking it, i soaked it up. I automatically knew what I was doing and as I focused on Jane, I could make out Demetri in the corner of my gaze start to crouch. I suddenly had an idea and instead of soaking up her gift, I reflected it back and it hit not only Jane and Demetri, but the entire circle of Elite Guards who had come to stand around us in an effort to create a barrier. Aro and the other two masters watched in awe as I made everyone around us fall to the ground, screaming in pain. Once I had the feeling they had learned their lesson, I lowered my shield and they gasped for unneeded breaths. I bowed to my creator and stepped over those fallen to approach the other masters and bow for them as well. I placed my hand in Aro’s out stretched one to walk up the steps, something many of the vampires around we gawked at. None of them had never walked up those steps.

“Isabella, you have surpassed all expectations. I am in awe of you.” He snapped his fingers and one of the personal guards came up to him with his arms full. “It is my utmost honor to present you with the Elite Guard robes of a Leading General and the Volturi insignia. Your position is only as permanent as you can keep it and I do hope you can keep it.” By then, he had tied the robe around my and I bowed my head for him to place the necklace around my neck. I smiled brightly at my achievement and turned to look at the others whom I had taken out. To my surprise, they all had recovered from my onslaught and were standing. They were all giving me a look of complete respect and devotion.

“I present Isabella Volturi, Leading General of the Elite Guard, Child of Volterra and first of her name.” Aro presented me to those watching and I couldn't help but smile.

“Congratulations.” Marcus's dry voice sounded behind her.

“Yes, Congratulations.” Caius agreed. Aro kissed my hand. I really felt as though I belonged there in that moment. I felt like I had finally found my family.

“Heidi?” Caius called. Heidi came forward from somewhere in the back.

“Yes, Master?” She asked.

“As a celebration, I'd like you to go out and collect a large group. Aro and Isabella have yet to feed and I am quite parched.” Heidi smiled and bowed before leaving. I knew at that point that Heidi was going out to collect humans for a feeding. Of course, I knew when I accepted to be part of the Volturi, I was giving up the opportunity to drink from animals, but I didn't quite care. Animals meant more to me. I was sure anyone that watched a movie where an animal died felt horrible afterwards. A human death? Not so much.

“Leading General, will you do me the honor of sharing your first feed with us? I know it is an intimate thing your creator usually does with you for your first time, but I am hoping you'll make an exception.” Caius addressed me.

“Absolutely, Master Caius.” I turned to Aro.

“Is that alright with you, Aro?” I asked. He nodded.

“Splendid idea.” He commented, seeming to brush it off. Though he spoke like he was okay with it, I felt as though he wasn't. I was his first change and while Marcus and Caius had done it plenty of times, I assumed Aro felt rather cheated of that fact. The doors opened then and Heidi was revealed to be leading a large pack of humans in.

“Ah, welcome!” Aro’s face became happy as he greeted them. The doors closed behind them and the humans seemed to look around in awe. I took a deep breath and found their scent delicious. It was almost arousing to say the least, but I could control myself. Everyone seemed to be looking at Aro to give the signal and I watched as Aro’s smile of happy greeting turned into a smile of madness and hunger. It was at that moment that I saw his eyes were black and I realized that he was just as thirsty as I was. He had sat with me the entire time of my transition and I could only assume he hadn't fed before my arrival. He waved his left hand and everyone pounced. I ignored the screams as I found a young man and began to drink. I opened my eyes and saw Aro finishing an older woman and beckoned him over. He understood immediately and we both bit into his neck, drinking slowly and deep. It made me feel sexually in need as I shared and I realized that I probably wasn't feeling what I should.

We finished the man off too quick and as we licked our lips, I grabbed a woman next and Aro and I finished her off as well. Now I wasn't thirsty. I was drinking for the thrill. I let my creator finish her off. I stepped away and lickedy fingers one by one. Oh, I could get used to this. Aro directed me to stand on the stairs with him and the rest.

“Watch.” He instructed. I did and I saw Heidi pull a lever. The entire floor dropped from under the giant pile of bodies and they fell into a pile of ash down below. As the floor started to close back up, I saw a furnace start to burn. “We do this to avoid the likelihood of exposal if we got caught disposing of them outside the walls.” Aro informed me. His voice was low and hoarse. I realized he had felt the same things I had during our shared feeding. Caius snapped his fingers and a group of purple colored robed vampires came forward.

“Clean this up.” He pointed at the smears of blood on the flood. They bowed and went to find the cleaning supplies.

“Now, I must leave you, Isabella. You are to train with the rest of the Elite Guard. I will see you in three days.” He informed me. I bowed.

“Yes, Aro.” Demetri came to collect me and we left. I followed them for a while in silence until we came upon a room that look beat up and broken. It too, had a throne area.

“This is our sparring room. Sometimes the Masters’ will come in and watch us. This is where we’ll be for the next three days as we train you in fighting. Right now, you are at an advantage. We do not know what your gift is or how it works at the moment, but after our time here, we will at least know how it works and how to get around it. We all know what we possess. I am a tracker and I use my senses to follow your every move. Chelsea has the ability to tie others to her or to the Masters. She uses that to make a Vampire refuse to fight her. That only worked for a day and a half before we realized how to evade it. You know what Jane does. Unfortunately for her, it only works on one person at a time and she cannot use that gift here. Until she evolves the gift, she will have to rely on her fighting capabilities. Felix has no real gift, but he is very good at finding a weakness and using it to his advantage. Finally, is Alec. His ability is the opposite of his sister in every way. His is a gift that acts as a smoke which is an anesthetic. It takes away all of your senses and numbs you, allowing you to be taken out. You will find out most of our not so obvious weaknesses over our time together and on. You will not be Leading General for long. Now, would you like to witness how we do it before you join, or get right into it?” Demetri ended his speech and I thought for a split second. Though I remembered clearly what Jasper had taught the Cullens during their own sparring, I had not seen enough.

“I'd like to watch how you all do it for now. I'll join in later.” I told them. Demetri frowned. It seemed as though everyone he had trained in the Elite Guard had opted to jump in. To me, that seemed like the worst mistake i could make at this point in time. Jane and Alec were up first. I watched as they fought and took notice in how they did it. During the time it took to circle each other, Jane had already planned how she would try to take down her brother. Her eyes gave her away. You could see how glazed they looked as she imagined how each move she made would have an outcome before even starting to spar. Jane also had the tactic to keep jabbing at her brother. I took notice at how it took him only a second and a half to activate his gift. Each time he was jabbed at by Jane, he'd have to collect himself. To stay out of Jane's line of vision where she could affect him with her own gift, he never stayed in the same place. I suddenly saw how he was losing to her. While her flaw was that she planned out her attack before doing it, he didn't activate his gift in enough time to dodge her attacks. If he activated it during the circling time, he would have it ready and would not need to charge it up before unleashing it. It took a full minute for him to fall. In the end, Jane placed her teeth on his neck and he was done.

Next came Chelsea and Felix. I could see her fault the minute they started. Chelsea focused too much on Felix. She wasn't paying attention to her body and how it moved. Because of her mistake, she was thrown around way too much. I turned my attention to Felix. He was nearly perfect. Nearly. He had a problem of giving away what he was going to do next and I only took notice because he was repetitive in his attacks. His first would be a smirk. The smirk would lead to throwing himself straight into Chelsea’s middle, taking advantage of her in mid step which would take her off balance and make her stumble back. Next, his pinky would twitch on his right hand which meant he would double back and run at her right side, picking her up and throwing her across the room. As she got up, his growl would sound and he’d pounce, leaping up to catch on the chandelier hanging above and swinging himself over to land on her shoulders and knock her to the ground again. He then would stand over her and during those two seconds, Chelsea would fumble last minute to tie him to her. She noticed how in that moment, it would almost work before he tackled her form and placed his teeth on her neck.

Lastly, Demetri would go up against each one of them. One by one, they'd step up to take him on. Demetri had the tracker ability. He knew as I did that Chelsea wasn't really a fighter and that gave him cause to use his gift on her and copy every movement she made with precision until she got mad and tried to take him down by throwing herself at him. As I watched him do nearly the same thing to each one of them, I planned how I would go about them. I knew Chelsea would be easy. I would do what Demetri did with her mixed with what Felix did. He battered her around. I would batter her, but I would also try and let her defend herself. Every move she would make, I'd copy it and get her until the end when I would go straight for the throat without waiting like Felix had done.

On to Demetri, I would use whatever power I have to soak up his gift and deflect it back to confuse him. Then, I would use what I saw Jasper do to take him out. I would then use Demetri’s gift against Felix and track his every movement, dodging it and attacking. With Jane, I would use her own attack style against her brother with her while Alec would know his gift doesn't work on me and fight me right out after watching what I did with the others. I would then use all my new moves I copied from everyone else to take him down and keep my title. That whole day passed by with me just watching and soaking in every detail and every move they made. The next two days, I employed all that I had learned and took them all one by one. As each one fell, they would bow to my superiority. It got so interesting that other vampires were coming in to see how it was going and ended up joining in for an hour or so. I was fighting so many people at the time, that I had no room for error and I was quick enough to not make them.The final day was when it was decided we would all fight at once.

The doors opened and in walked in my creator and the other two masters to view my progress. They took their seats up on the Thrones and we all stood for the first second to study where each vampire was.

“Begin!” Demetri suddenly yelled. I leaped in the air and spun to land on Chelsea, taking her out first as Jane and Alec took on Demetri and Felix. I helped Felix and Demetri in getting rid of the twins before turning on them. I forced Demetri to focus on Felix with me, using his gift to make him sense only Felix. With Felix down, I ignored the feeling of everyone watching me and combined the way Jane fought and Felix along with The tracking gift to leave him confused and out of it as he tried to fight the way his senses made him want to focus on everyone else in the room. My constant attacking left him with sloppy dodges and no room to think before acting. I finally used my frantic newborn thirst against him and reflected my thirst onto him as well as everything else. He came to his knees and I pressed my teeth to his neck in victory. I had mastered fighting. Aro and the masters started to clap and everyone else joined in until the Elite Guard was calling my name and Demetri was standing.

“I step down for you.” He said in a shaky voice.

“Wonderful, Isabella. Just wonderful.” Aro stood and came down to meet me in the middle of the room. He picked up my hand and kissed it affectionately. I looked around to see my partners in the guard were all looking at me with pride. “May I present, Isabella Volturi. Leading General of the Elite Guard, Child of Volterra, Most Powerful of the Crest and first in her name.” The title he added made me know with certainty that he now knew what my gift was, but I would not ask him now. I would wait until we were alone.


	2. Aria Swynelle and Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again with the next chapter in this tale. I hope you like it!

It had been six months since my turning and I now knew what I was. I was a Sponge Shield. I was able to take a copy of someone’s gift and use it as my own. What had baffled me was that Marcus had known an ancestor of mine with the same gift. She had been a vampire who changed him. That was before she was killed by a vampire with no gift. Her name was Aria Swynelle and unlike me, she had relied too much on her gift and didn't know how to fight. He did happen to know that she had a child before she was changed. Later on down the line, a man of her descent moved to a new country where he changed his name to Swann to fit in with the townspeople. He married a woman named Mary Cullen who gave birth to Carlisle and then his younger sister, Serena. Mary died of TB four years later and Carlisle's father was driven Mad after finding her body which ended in him taking his life, leaving the two young children whom her father took in and raised as his own. Though Carlisle was changed before he was able to produce children, his younger sister, Serena, had a boy out of Wedlock and gave him her father's last name. That child later immigrated to America when the second 'N’ was lost.

It wasn't that I didn't like that Carlisle was my distant Uncle, it was that I was his family and he still left me behind with his family left. For that event alone, I held contempt for him and secretly never wanted to lay eyes on the Cullens ever again. On another note, I had met everyone in the castle, including Athenodora and Sulpicia. Athenodora was Caius' beloved wife and mate while Sulpicia was Aro’s. In some way, that dampened my mood. I cared for Aro very much. And though I did not know if it was just the sire bond, I was still a little sad to meet her. I eventually became lonely. Most of the vampires in Voltaire had a mate and I did not. I spent most of my time training and sparring with the rest of the Elite Guard to keep my mind off of it, but my mind only wandered at nights when I was alone in my chambers. I suspected Jane knew I was lonely by the way she talk to me and eventually, she taught me how to play the piano, which was her favorite pastime.

On one particular night, I could hear everyone in the castle that was mated, rutting around like animals. It all started with Athenodora and Caius. She was practically screaming. Then everyone was doing it. It was infectious. I had given up trying to read or even live in my chambers and rushed out to the gardens for some fresh air. It was there that I saw something crawl over the wall. I went to investigate and before I got there, I could smell the scent of a human. I licked my lips. Perhaps it was time for a midnight snack?

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” I said in a sultry voice. The human froze and turned around slowly to look at me. It was a man in his late twenties with a bag and rope. It didn't take a scientist to figure out he was a thief.

“Um. Well… You see..” The human stammered as he stared at my beauty. I laughed.

“Oh, I love it when their speechless sometimes. Especially at a time like this when I'm not really that thirsty. Sometimes I need them to shut up and take it.” I stepped towards him. He was soon backed into the wall. Before I knew it, he took out a knife and went to stab me, surprised when it only tore my shirt open to see my bra and the strap falling down. The blade itself broke right off the handle. “Mm. Fighting back, I see. How delightful.”

“I do love it when they sneak over the wall. They’re almost better game than the ones we have brought in.” A new voice came from behind me.

“Hello, Aro. Out for a stroll?” I asked, placing my stone like hand over the man’s mouth to keep him from screaming.

“Only to get away from what’s going on inside.” My eyebrows came up in surprise.

“I'd think you'd be in there with them, enjoying Sulpicia.” I said to him. He laughed.

“Sulpicia and I haven’t been intimate in centuries. She found her true mate in that of Maryn, who is one of the Vampires that used to serve Didyme. She is only my mate for show until I find my own true mate.” He looked me over as he said this, eyeing the rather big tear in my shirt.

“Interesting. Well, would you like to share the little field mouse I've caught? He looks absolutely to die for.” The man struggled under my grasp. Aro’s eyes gleamed in the moonlight and he came closer to me to take up my offer. He seemed just as eager as I did to experience the pleasure we had together the first time we fed from the same veins. I let go of the man and bit into his neck as Aro did. The man did not cry out, but only whimpered. I immediately felt the unbelievable pleasure from drinking him with Aro. He felt the same as he reached over to knock away my bra strap that had already been falling down. The cup slackened and the cool air of the night brushed across my half bare chest. Aro caressed my breast as he drank and I moaned into the human's artery. He was gone too soon and instead of standing aside as we would in the throne room after feeding, Aro pushed the human’s body to the ground and grabbed onto me. Our lips connected and our tongues lapt at the remaining blood in our mouths. He pushed me up against the stone wall and my leg came up and around his hip. I was aroused and I could feel his own arousal hard against my thigh. We ripped at each other's clothes until we were naked and I was clinging to him. We kissed and moaned into each other as we finally connected. If I had been human, our rutting against the wall would have left scrapes against my back, but I wasn't and instead of my own wounds, the wall was being shaped into my backside as we rutted against it.

Our moans were loud and feral as we pushed towards release and as we came together in the moonlight, I knew what to do and we bit into each other’s necks to mark one another as mates. All the months of built up sexual tension had been brought to this point. We gasped for our unneeded breaths while he was still inside of me and we were soon going again with reckless abandon. As I was getting riled up, Aro picked me up and dashed towards the castle and literally jumped into my open window that delivered us to my room. The night was ours from then on out.

* * *

It was morning when we finally stopped. We laid together in my bed, enjoying the feeling of being close finally.

“Did you know we were mates?” I asked him as I played with his chest hair.

“I felt the pull immediately after I changed you. I was just confused. I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was our bond as your sire or something more.” He confessed.

“Yes, I felt the same way. How do you explain the way we felt feeding together?” I asked him. He held me close.

“Sharing blood is a very intimate thing between mates and sires. Marcus showed me late last night what our bond could turn out to be and I chose to advance, knowing if you rejected me then the bond way only a sire one.” I cuddled into him.

“Mmmm. I'm glad it’s both, my love.” I said to him. He kissed my forehead.

“I must confess that you have a mission coming up. This one will be over seas.” He told me. I raised a brow. Most of my missions had been to extract vampires from the town that were not part of the guard. Most would end in a fight.

“What is the mission?”

“There are rumors of disloyalty and a revolt. I'm sending the guard out to stay with a coven for a week or so to track down the disloyal ones and put them to death.” He sounded like it was hard for him to tell me.

“You're sending me to the Cullens, aren't you?” I asked him.

“You, Felix and Demetri. You are the most powerful of the Elite Guard and they are one of the more gifted covens to deal with. I'm sorry, Isabella.” He apologized. I placed a kiss on his cheek and turned his face for me to kiss his lips.

“Do not worry, Aro. I will not fail you.” As he was touching me, I opened my shield, reflecting his gift so we could read each other. His eyes became wide.

“You care for me that much?” He asked. I nodded.

“Of course, my mate. Forever. I will not fail you.” That was all we said for some time. Soon enough, we had to be dressed. We did not shower to get rid of each other’s scents. We merely decided to keep it.

“When are we leaving?” I asked as he opened my bedroom door for me.

“Tomorrow morning is your plane out. I realize this means you will miss morning feeding, so I have made arrangements for there to be human stuartists on the plane. You will be able to feed on the way.”

“Okay, my love. I think today I should seek out Demetri and Felix for practice. I will need to keep my shield on them to keep Edward from reading them and finding out what my gift is and how it works.” He kissed me passionately before turning for the opposite way I was going.

“Do as you wish, my love.”

* * *

That next morning, Aro and I made love before my time to leave. He took me in his arms just before boarding the plane and I felt him giving me as much as his gift as he could.

“That is for your own use. You will need to search every thought for signs of revolt.” I nodded. We kissed in front of the others and I left reluctantly.

“So, I guess we all know now who your mate is.” Felix joked. I smiled.

“Yes and I'm very happy.” Felix and Demetri watched the humans around us with disinterest. They had fed the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Guys. That's all for now. Leave a Kudo and comment to let me know how you like it and I'll see you next time! For those of you who are a committed In The Lonely Hour reader, I know I broke my promise to have a double upload, but with college going on, I've been overloaded. I'll have something up.... Sometime. Just don't hunt me down with pitchforks!


	3. Meeting The Cullens Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! I'm back with chapter 3. I hope you love this one!

Hours later, we were landing in Alaska. I could see Carlisle leaning against his car outside.

“Demetri, will you get our cloaks and sigils? I want to give them quite a scare.” I instructed. He smiled evilly and stood to get our cloaks. I grabbed ahold of the human closest to me and began drinking. By the time we landed and were slowing down the plane on the runway, I had just finished all four humans on board. There was blood coming down the side on my lip. Felix eyed it.

“Leave it.” I told him. We dressed in our garb and the doors opened. As it was, Felix and Demetri were supposed to exit first, to make sure it was safe for me. I was the Leading General and they would protect me at all costs. Carlisle's smile faltered when I came down the stairs from the plane in my Elite Guard attire.

“Hello, Carlisle.” I greeted in an airy tone. His eyes spied the blood on my lip and I took a finger and pulled up the blood on my face and popped it in my mouth. “Oops.” I faked. Felix handed me a handkerchief to wipe my lips off.

“It seems you are a messy feeder, Isabella.” Demetri joked. I glared at him in front of Carlisle.

“Quiet, General.” I instructed.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Carlisle looked surprised.

“General? Aren't you Leading General, still?” He asked.

“Not anymore. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce Isabella. Carlisle Cullen? I am proud to present, Isabella Volturi. Leading General of the Elite Guard, Child of Volterra, Most Powerful of the Crest, True Mate to King Aro and first of her name.” I bowed just a little. Carlisle blanched at my titles.

“Isabella, who is your creator?” He asked me, using my full name.

“Aro changed me. We later found that our bond was more than a sire bond.” I informed him.

“How long will you be staying with us, Leading General?” He asked, changing the subject.

“The masters have commanded each group stay up to two weeks for assessment.” I said. I channeled Jane's way of speaking. She always sounded scary when addressing those not in our coven. He nodded. Felix brought our bags to the car. As he brushed past me, I touched his hand and saw his case was mostly full of O- blood for later on in our stay.

“Colonel, did Aro ask you to pack what I think you packed?” I asked him.

“Of course he did. He said it was your favorite.” I smiled.

“Thank you, Felix.” We got into the car with Demetri sitting in front with Carlisle.

“So tell me, Carlisle. Has anyone been particularly distraught with the Crest? I remind you that this question covers my joining as well.” I said to him.

“Unfortunately, Edward has been…. Upset. He talks of coming to get you, but the family has forbidden him. Other than him, everyone is content with how we live. We all were happy to hear when Alice explained that you belonged with the Volturi.” I nodded along.

“Well, I must warn you ahead of time that if Edward does anything while we are here, I will have no choice but to punish him.” I told him.

“I can only hope that he does nothing to upset you then, Leading General. May I ask why you are going by your full name now?” He asked me.

“I just never got around to requesting a nickname mostly because I liked the way Aro said it. Now, I tend to insist my full name.” I spoke truthfully.

“I trust your time with the Crest has been an interesting one, then.” Carlisle said after a moment of silence.

“Are you kidding me? She stayed completely silent through the change and wasn't thirsty when she woke up! Her test for the Elite Guard took two minutes to have everyone on their knees and she was fully trained in three days!” Demetri guffawed.

“Is that true?” Carlisle asked in shock.

“Every word.” I told him. “How close are we?” I asked suddenly.

“Another ten minutes.” He told me. I nodded and exercised my shield out to cover Demetri and Felix. “How were you not thirsty?” He asked.

“Well, I guess my thirst came second to me when my creator was there.” I said dryly. Felix laughed.

“Yeah, until you got to share your kills with Master Aro. You both oozed sexual need. Talk about a tough room.” Demetri and him shared a laugh at that. I growed.

“General! Colonel! I hope you can keep those details to yourself in the days to come or Master Aro will have your hydes.” I tutted them.

“Whatever punishment Master Aro gives me will be a godsend over what you could do.” I smirked and looked out the window to see us approaching a house. As we got closer, I could make out figures standing in the front yard. We pulled up to the house and the car was parked. Carlisle got out of the car and walked over to hug Esme. Demetri then got out of the car as Felix did and he opened my door.

“Isabella.” He said.

“Thank you, Demetri.” I stepped out with my hood up and they followed my flank as we came up to the Coven. We dropped our hoods. Many gasped. “What a lovely place you have here, Dr. Cullen. Thank you for having us. Your coven may have already been informed by you or your seer, but I am required to announce why we are here. There has been rumors of restlessness among vampires about the way the Volturi does things. I and my fellow Elite Guards have been assigned to you and we will be here for two weeks in order to assess who is not loyal to the Crest.” I could feel Edward’s gift try to assault my shield and read Demetri and Felix. His brows furrowed when he realized he couldn't.

“I hope we all pass your judgement, Bella.” Esme smiled kindly.

“Thank you, Esme. I must ask though, that you call me Isabella. It is the only name I answer to now besides my title.” I requested. She nodded.

“Of course.” She replied. Edward growled and Rosalie smacked him upside the head.

“Shut up, you dolt. Whatever is easier on them is easier for us.” Rosalie hissed. Edward ignored her and glared at my flanking men.

“What are they doing here? What, do the masters insist on your protection?” Edward sneered. It seemed he had grown bitter of my choice since I last saw him. I opened my mouth to speak when Felix snorted.

“Yeah, like Isabella needs our undying protection. If anything, we need to be protected from her when we step out of line or interrupt her with a kill.” Demetri snickered along. I decided to allow the outburst. And laughed with him.

“Especially with the ones that sneak over the wall. Right where the statue of Athenodora is? Aro and I shared one there the night before last.” She giggled. Felix’s eyes became large.

“So are we to assume the evidence in the wall there was you?” He asked.

“Aro helped with that one, but this is all besides the point.” She composed herself and turned back to Edward. “If you do not believe that I can protect myself, you are free to challenge me, Mr. Cullen. I'm always looking for a good fight. If a challenge is what you want, a challenge is what you'll have.” He was silent and I looked over the group.

“Carlisle, because of our visit being so thrust upon you on short notice, we understand if you did not have time to make room. The three of us will share a living space.” I told him.

“There’s no need. We have plenty of room. I-” Carlisle was cut off as Edward burst in.

“I challenge you.” I turned my body to face him.

“What was that?” I asked.

“I, Edward Cullen, challenge Bella Swan.” I laughed.

“The least you could do is do this right. You have to address me properly with all of my titles correctly.” Edward rolled his eyes.

“Then what are your titles?”

“Demetri! This is your job.” I snapped my fingers and Demetri stepped forward.

“I am proud to present, Isabella Volturi. Leading General of the Elite Guard, Child of Volterra, Most Powerful of the Crest, True Mate to King Aro and first of her name.” All but Carlisle gasped.

“Edward, don't you dare! An attack on Aro’s Mate is an attack on him and an attack on the Crest!” Jasper warned. “She didn't become Leading General from batting her eyelashes.”

“Are you sure you wish to challenge me?” I asked in a tone of malice.

“I am sure.” I grinned evilly.

“Demetri, hold my cloak and sigil. Felix? Create the barrier and find a box.” I commanded.

“A box? For what?” Emmett asked in confusion.

“For the body parts, of course.” I giggled in excitement. Demetri held out his arms for my cloak and I untied it to fall in his arms. My sigil was hung on his hand. As I took off my cloak, they all could see my mated mark. Edward growled.

“He mated you?” He yelled.

“What happened to Sulpicia?” Jasper asked.

“Oh, Sulpicia is still there. She’s been true mated with a vampire named Maryn for centuries now.”

“Why would Aro allow you to fight if you are his mate?” Rosalie asked.

“That question will be answered by the end of this fight.” I told her.

“Alright, everyone stand in a large circle in the field.” Felix directed. I stood in the center with Edward across from me. Felix stood in the center of us both. “The challenge ends when the loser is delimbed. Begin!” He kept out of the circle and Edward began trying to circle me. His gift would do nothing on me and I knew how bad of a fighter he was. I chose to show Jasper what I had learned from watching him and attacked. Edward had been expecting an obvious newborn strike. Instead, I back flipped as he came around struck him with my foot, sending his face in the dirt. As he got up, I flipped in the air and landed on his shoulders like how Alice had done to Jasper and instead of kissing him like she did, I used my body weight to taking him down as I twisted and took his arm clean off. There was a sound like metal breaking as I did it and I tossed it to Felix to put in the box.

Edward’s cries of pain made him angry and he tried to get me from the side, which I blocked and grabbed his foot, throwing him and taking his leg. He landed in front of Emmett.

“Bro. You're done.” Emmett laughed. Edward got up as I threw the leg to the side and as he tried to come at me. I channeled Jane's gift to take him down. As he cried in frozen pain, I took off his head and he dropped. All there was, was silence as I took Edward’s head over and handed it to Carlisle. I then put my cloak and sigil back on.

“Felix!” I called. He came over to me.

“Bag me!” He knew what I meant and raced for his suitcase in the car as I watched them put Edward back together again. Jasper came up to me as they worked.

“Leading General, I must congratulate you on your win and ask how you know some of those moves?” I smiled.

“I don't have all of my memories from being human, but I do remember you sparring with your family quite a lot. I would have taken him down how I normally do the others, but I wanted to pay tribute to you.” Felix came back and presented me with a blood bag.

“Leading General.” I took it from him and everyone’s eyes turned to focus on what I had. Jasper started to back away and I took his hand to stop him.

“Sh. Jasper. This is my snack and since I have it here, I'm going to show you something I knew a long time ago when it was my birthday. You see, you're an empath and what most of them don't understand is that bloodthirst is hunger and hunger is an emotion. When they smelled my blood that day, you felt all of their hunger along with your own. It amplified it to make you almost uncontrollable.” I opened the bag and took a sip. Everyone’s thirst was evident and Jasper's eyes became black as I held him in my steel grip. “When you all smell blood, your hunger is most affected.” I put up my shield and tried combining it with Alec's gift and it became a bubble of purple gas. He suddenly could not feel their emotions and his eyes came back to normal. “Now you see. It’s not because you're new at this animal diet or you're unable to control yourself. Alone, you do just fine.” I smiled and finished the bag in front of him and handed it to Felix. “I want you to close off your mind. Okay? The scent of blood is fresh in the air and I need you to only focus on what you are feeling. Okay?” He nodded and after a few minutes, I knew he was ready. I dropped my shield on him and he still stayed fine. “This is the secret.”

Everyone was shocked to see Jasper was not going crazy at the scent of blood and hadn't attacked me to get the bag away.

“Thank you, Isabella.” I smiled and let go of him.

“Just for you, Jasper. You can call me Bella.”

“That was marvelous!” Alice cheered, hugging onto Jasper.

“Yes, I owe you an apology, Jasper. I did not realize we were the cause all along.” Carlisle said to Jasper. Many were apologizing and I winked at Demetri and Felix to tell them what I had done was for a good reason. I looked over to see that Edward was alive again, sitting on the grass as Esme fastened his arm on.

“It doesn't matter what she does. She still slept her way up the later to become Leading General.” He sneered. Felix and Demetri were about to tackle him when Carlisle growled.

“That is enough, Edward! You know as well as the rest of us that any vampire made by a master is put in the Elite Guard and their positions are battled for between each other.” He looked at me and I nodded in gratitude.

“Carlisle is right. Though I am Aro’s Mate, I actually earned my place and titles. There is also something that only Carlisle understands. When one creates a vampire, there is a bond between them as Creator and Newborn. Sometimes, that line is combined with that of the mating pull because both are so strong. Like Carlisle probably did with Esme at first, Aro was not sure if what he was feeling was the mating pull or our bond. He also had no frame of reference because I am his first. The only way he could know if it was the mating pull was if he acted on it and I either accepted or rejected him. Maybe your creator can explain it to you, but I'm afraid that you will only ever know this when you create a vampire yourself.” The air was thick with tension until it was broke by Felix’s phone ringing.

“Yes, Master.” He answered. There was the clear sound of Aro on the other line for a few moments.

“That is wonderful, Master. Yes, Isabella is right here.” Felix passed the phone to me and I put it to my ear.

“Hello, Love.” I answered.

“Mia Stella, I have wonderful news. We have a new recruit!” Aro said to her.

“That’s great, Aro. I trust he will be a nice addition.” She could hear his excitement on the other line.

“Yes. He is a little young for the change, but he was found in Brazil by Chelsea and Alec and was dying of some kind of human disease.they are bringing home back to Voltaire at the end of their mission. Speaking of, how's yours going?” He asked. I looked over to Carlisle as Aro spoke.

“It’s going fine, Aro. Everyone seems trustworthy for now, I will have a better update to give after my first week here.” I glanced around before whispering in the phone as I turned away from the looks. “I miss you already. It will be hard to stay away from you for so long when we are so freshly mated.” I confessed.

“It will be hard for me as well, but trust in me when I say I miss you. My chambers have no use without you in them.” He told me. I giggled and knew my bell-like laugh could be heard by all behind me.

“We will make good use of them when I return. I must go now.”

“Call me when you can. I love you, my sun and moon.” He said to me.

“I love you too, my stars and heaven.” I ended the call and wiped the grin off my face before turning to the Cullen's with a stone face.

“Felix, I need you to scout the area for good hunting spots for us. Those bags you brought will only last us the week between the three of us. Dimitri and I will make sure we are settled in.” I directed.

“Yes, Leading General.” Felix bowed and started running away to look. I turned to Dimitri.

“Let’s get those bags, shall we?”

“Uh, if what you mean be ‘we’ is you, then yes.” I let a smile break through and a laugh.

“Excuse me? Since when should I have to carry your bags?”

“Since I had to be the one to fill in the hole your backside left in the wall next to the statue of Athenodora. Do you even realize how pissed Master Caius was to find that?” I giggled.

“Aro had a part in that escapade.” Dimitri scoffed.

“Yeah, and that is why I would never try and make Master Aro carry my bags.”

“Ah, but you follow my orders when he isn't around. Last time I checked, I kicked your sweet ass to the ground to earn the title of Leading General.” Dimitri smirked.

“PSH. I've been training with you for months now, you couldn't beat me now even with the rest of your newborn strength.” He sighed and didn't see the look of anger I had on my face as he disrespected me in front of others. He turned his back to me. “Fine, I'll get the bags.” I focused my gaze on him as I heard Emmet start to laugh.

“You all argue like a bunch of married couples.” Emmet stated with a guffaw as Dimitri got to the car, I turned on Jane’s gift. To everyone’s horror, Dimitri was now on the ground convulsing in pain. I came up to him as he whimpered.

“Don’t ever disrespect me in front of anyone again.” All laughter stopped as I laid off of him and Dimitri took unneeded breaths. “Esme, why don't you show me the house? I'm sure with your love for building that you built this home yourself.” I suggested. I didn't look at the Cullen’s faces.

“Of course.” I heard Esme come up behind me and then she was leading me inside. Before she shut the door, I heard faint whispers.

“Her gift must be amazing.” Carlisle commented.

“She is amazing, Carlisle.” Jasper answered. I smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a Kudo and a comment on this! Let me know that you liked it. See you next time!


	4. Playing Nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, my lovely readers! I'm back with a new chapter! I hope you like this one and I'll see you at the end.

I could tell Esme was nervous to be around me, I could taste the emotion thick in the air and it permeated the entire house once all the Cullen's had entered from outside. I was picking up on Jasper’s gift and I was surprised the nervousness tasted like lemons. She showed me around the house rather quickly as I nodded and worked to give an appreciating smile at her work. I had always known Esme was a creative individual.

“Isabella, I... I wanted to apologize for when we left-” She started. I held up a hand, my nails painted a matte Burgundy color.

“I don’t want to hear any excuses, Esme. You all left because the novelty wore off and I can understand that. It’s just like when a human climbs over the walls in Voltaire. I may play with them a while, but I eventually get bored of them and I kill them. At least I’m now with people who respect me as a Vampire and care for me as a friend as well as a mate who truly loves every part of me.” I took on a bit of steel in my voice as I spoke and Esme frowned and nodded. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I will go and find Felix and Demetri.” I turned and left her standing there as I made my way down the stairs. I followed their scent into the living room where Emmett was playing video games. Rosalie sat on the couch reading a magazine while Felix and Demetri seemed to be discussing the wars in the south with Jasper. I sat down on the couch as they talked.

“I haven't been in the wars for years. I'm sure Maria has grown her army tremendously by now.” Felix scoffed.

“Master Caius has been planning an intervention for years. You could say it’s lit a fire under him ever since Isabella joined us. He thinks she is the key to the end of it all.” I snorted.

“Oh, please. Of course I am, Felix. When is it ever not something me-related? I’m just glad I didn't slit my wrists when I wanted to. Being the most powerful Volturi member certainly makes me well and able to cause chaos. Let those dirty rogues burn, for all I care.” Demetri laughed while Emmett and Jasper looked at me with wide eyes.

“Master Aro should have found you sooner, Isabella. I could have enjoyed your dark humour much sooner.” I cracked a smile.

“Yes, but not all was bad. Give the Cullen’s a little credit. Aro would have never found me if it wasn't for Edward’s inability to check his facts correctly.” At that point, Alice had come in and kissed Jasper on the cheek before pursuing me. I watched as she came up with a sickeningly sweet smile. “Yes, Alice?” I asked.

“I was wondering if you wanted to get out of those clothes and into something more befitting. You're a vampire now, that means you don't have to wear those dreadful clothes anymore.” My eyes narrowed.

“The clothes I have on and the clothes that I brought are perfectly fine and my mate certainly doesn't complain. I'm not a doll, Alice.” Felix chuckled. My eyes shot to him and back. “Felix on the other hand, loves fashion. His whole closet is filled with Dolce and Gabana.” He stopped laughing immediately. I smiled.

“I just thought....” She began.

“Oh, please, Alice. You heard her! She looks fine with what she has on. Go play dress up with someone who cares.” Rosolie chided, not even taking the time to look at Alice as she turned the page on her magazine. Alice pouted.

“That may have worked for me when I was human, Alice, but now all pouting will get you is my anger.” I hissed as I spoke. Alice stepped away and I looked around the room, seeing the piano sitting in the corner. I stood and walked over to it, sitting down and running my fingers across the white keys.

“Oh, not the Piano.” Demetri whined. I laughed.

“You just hate music because you're tone deaf.”

“That and Jane once ruined her piano by throwing it at me.”

“With good reason. You burned all her handwritten sheet music.” I pointed out.

“That was actually Alec. He did that when she beat him in spar and got him knocked down to Lieutenant.” I giggled as I placed my hands at the keys and started to play.

“I didn't know you could play.” I heard a voice say and looked up to see Edward looking at me.

“I let Jane teach me. She needed a friend. I can play the Violin as well.” Edward raised a brow. “Aro adores it and plays it daily. He and Caius play it like the instrument was made for them. Athenodora saw me staring one day at them playing and talked her husband into giving me lessons.” I amended. I was playing ‘Spring’ by Vivaldi and as it reached its’ chorus, I started humming along.

“Isabella adores music. She’s a quick learner.” Demetri stated, watching me intently as I suddenly changed songs.

“It soothes the beast inside. Hmm. I believe Esme likes this one.” I changed key and started playing what I remembered of the song Edward wrote for me. “I don't remember too much of this one, but I've improvised the parts I've forgotten.” I said as I got to a point I had rewritten. “I imagine that if I had the chance to bring a daughter in the world, the song for her would have been like this.” I admitted. I could feel the mood of the room shift and not wanting to cause an awkward silence, I changed the tune into ‘The River Flows In You’ by Yiruma.

“And this song? What is this song for?” Edward asked me.

“Aro loves this tune. He plays it on the Violin when he thinks no one is around to hear him. Of course, that didn't last long with Heidi dancing in the hallways to it.” I smiled and Felix chuckled.

“Yes, She has pulled me into a few of those dances. Master Aro becomes quite peeved when he catches her.” The song ended and I laid my hands in my lap.

“If you think that’s funny, you should remember the time Chelsea fell down the incinerator. That was great. She tethered a couple low level members to her and they actually jumped down to save her before it turned on. When she came out, she was covered in ash.” I reminded then, laughing. Felix joined in while Demetri was confused.

“I don't remember that.” He stated with a frown. Felix clapped him on the back with a chuckle.

“That’s because you were too busy flirting with the receptionist out front. You missed feeding time because of that. It was great, Chelsea is always a messy feeder and had chosen the one tourist that was seriously knackered. She was not only covered in their blood, but drunk as well. She stumbled right into it and fell twenty feet down into a pile of ash. I tell you, the cloud that formed when she hit bottom..... You missed something great.” Felix gushed. We heard the coming laughter of Emmett and turned to see him with his game paused.

“That’s almost as good as the time I dumped tomato juice on Alice from the roof.” His big laughs could be heard from every room in the house.

“Esme and I are going hunting, does anyone want to join?” Carlisle asked as he walked in the room with his wife right behind him. Alice nodded and pulled Jasper with her towards the couple.

“Nah, Rosie and I fed on Sunday.” Emmett answered, unpausing his game.

“No thank you, Mr. Cullen. Felix and I fed before we came.” Demetri declined.

“As you know, I fed on the plane. Besides, it’s not my type of victim.” I told Carlisle. He nodded, seeming a little disappointed in my choice of diet. They left soon after letting Edward know they would be back in six hours. “So, tell me about life here? Do you go to school or anything?” I asked, deciding to start digging into their loyalties and lives. I figured if I started simple, they would be more open.

“We haven't bothered going to school. In fact, we spend most of our time with our vampire cousins.” Emmett stated.

“Ah, yes. The Denali coven. I believe Jacob and Miriam are with them.” I said, thinking of the two lower level members. This mission was meant to be their judgment. If they passed, they would move up in rank.

“Yeah, them. From what I hear, Tanya already is trying to put her claws in the male one.” He said. I laughed at the thought.

“Well, I may have never met this coven before, but I can tell you now that it won't happen between them.” Rosalie looked up from her magazine.

“Why?” She asked.

“Jacob is very gay and very mated. Him and another vampire Xavier are together and have been for ten years. She might have more luck with Miriam, though. Miriam is easily influenced.” Rosalie snorted and set down her finished magazine.

“What is it like with the Volturi?” She asked as she started looking at her nails. I raised a brow.

“It’s really nice. People actually care what other’s opinions are. When we aren't spending time on missions or training or with our mates, we play pranks on each other. Of course, this is when we aren't watching Athenodora and Caius go at it.” I laughed. Rosalie’s eyes became wide and she looked at me.

“You don’t mean...” That made me laugh harder.

“Sex? No. I mean when they are fighting. When they aren't rutting against everything in the castle, they’re arguing about some stupid thing. Just last week, Master Caius made the terrible mistake of pulling out the rose bush next to her statue that had been there for twenty or so years and she just flipped.” I replied. Demetri chuckled.

“What was great about that is how she had been complaining for the last eight months about how much she hated it.” He added.

“Really? I didn't know that and I’ve been around Athenodora almost as much as I’ve been around you two.” I said in surprise. Felix made a face.

“Demetri loves gossip. He runs errands for her in his spare time and hears everything she has to say about what Master Caius is and isn’t doing right.” He turned his nose up. Demetri gave him a friendly push.

“Yeah, and you don’t dish on what you hear around the castle during your night walks? Wasn’t it you who said Organa was sleeping with both Tereus and Corten while leading on Sergio? Where exactly did that information come from?” Demetri teased. Felix turned up his nose again.

“You're sure one to judge! You have no idea how much good gossip is spread around the castle because you're too busy trying to entice Heidi into your bed.” If Demetri could have turned red, he probably would have. He was about to reply when Emmett turned off the game system he was playing on and the news came on.

_“In other news today, the number of people gone missing in Port Angeles has nearly tripled since we last aired the story.”_ I got up from the piano and stood in front of the television.

“Did you all know about this?” I hissed as the news played. Emmett gulped.

“Well, yeah. We’ve been keeping tabs on it for a while now.” He answered. Felix was at my right in an instant.

“This sounds an awful lot like a newborn army being raised.” He told me. I nodded.

“Yes, it does and it’s worrisome that this is so close to where my father is.” I admitted.

“Ah, yes. The sheriff. Well, once we assess the situation, we can annihilate them before they get to him.” Demetri stated as my eyes became slits.

“And knowing the Masters, they won’t want to get to it unless we have seen it for ourselves. Demetri, you and I will go tonight to check it out. Edward?” I looked over at him. “You will need to come with and read their minds. Someone will be the creator or know the creator and we can’t read them. Felix will have to stay here.” Though I did not really need Edward for his power, I didn’t quite remember Port Angeles very well from my human memories. I figured that if I brought him along with us, I could also soak up his gift. Edward glared at me before nodding. “Then it’s settled. I, along with Demetri and Edward will go out tonight when Dr. Cullen returns from his hunt.” I stated.

“Shouldn’t you confirm with Master Aro before doing this?” Felix asked. I shook my head.

“Aro cannot be bothered with this until we know for a fact what it is and who is causing it. I will tell him myself once I know what we’re up against.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's chapter four. That's all I have typed up right now on my computer, but I promise you won't have to wait long for the next update, I'm really enjoying putting the story together. it's just finding a way to convey all that I imagine this story entailing. Anyways, leave a kudo and a comment if you liked it and I'll see you all in chapter five.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, let me know what you think! I have several chapters already typed up and waiting to be published, so leave a comment and a kudo and I'll see you all next time. Love you!


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